California Sports Betting May Return to the Ballot in 2026

Major gambling companies are now working with Native American tribes to investigate a unified strategy that could reinstate online wagering on the ballot in 2026 after California voters rejected sports betting in 2022.

California defeated two sports betting proposals in 2022, despite campaigns spending hundreds of millions of dollars to persuade voters.

Now, large gambling corporations are reportedly courting California’s Native American tribes in an effort to find a way to allow sports betting in the state.

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and FanDuel President Christian Genetski attended the “The Power of Partnerships” seminar during the annual Indian gambling tradeshow and convention last week, according to Politico.

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They had an on-stage conversation with Indian Gaming Association Conference Chair Victor Rocha, during which they stated that any future efforts to legalize sports betting in California must be driven by tribes.

The discussion took place as part of a tribal advisory board established by the Sports Betting Alliance to bring together top gaming executives and tribal leaders.

Politico said that one alternative being examined is to create a unified corporation comprising all 109 recognized tribes who would then contract with casino operators to offer internet betting platforms. The sports betting corporations would bankroll a campaign for a ballot proposal, which could be introduced as early as 2026.

Flashback: The two measures that failed in 2022 were Proposition 26 and Proposition 27, both of which would have legalized sports betting.

Numerous tribes around the state supported Proposition 26. It would have permitted in-person sports betting at tribal casinos and state-licensed racetracks. It would also have allowed tribal casinos to offer roulette and dice games.

Proposition 27 was supported by large gambling businesses like FanDuel and DraftKings, as well as tribes. It would have enabled tribes to provide sports betting online and form relationships with gambling corporations.

The campaigns for both initiatives cost around $360 million in total.

According to Politico, Robins stated, “I’m not going to sit here and say we don’t make mistakes – we’ve made many mistakes.” However, I believe that those who work with us and people like you who have known us well realize how much we care and how we want to do things the correct way. Here, there is no other option except to establish tribal connections and relationships.

Courtesy: https://igamingexpert.com/, https://www.igbnorthamerica.com/, https://gamingamerica.com/news/